Terminix to pay $10M for poisoning Delaware family

Terminix has agreed to pay $10 million to resolve allegations that it was illegally spraying a toxic pesticide that sickened and nearly killed a Delaware family vacationing in the U.S. Virgin Islands last year.
USA TODAY

The Sirenusa resort in the Caribbean island of St. John is shown in an undated photo. The Esmond family, of Delaware, was poisoned by the banned pesticide methyl bromide at the resort.(Photo: SirenUSA)

WILMINGTON, Del. — A pest control company has agreed to pay $10 million to resolve allegations that it was illegally spraying a toxic pesticide that sickened and nearly killed a Delaware family vacationing in the U.S. Virgin Islands last year.

The U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday that Terminix has admitted to using a pesticide called methyl bromide at 14 locations – including at the Sirenusa condominium resort in St. John where the family was vacationing in March 2015.

The pesticide, which is odorless and can severely damage the central nervous and respiratory systems, has been banned for indoor use by the Environmental Protection Agency since 1984.

A Terminix worker sprayed the pesticide in the condo below where the family – Steve Esmond, then-head of Tatnall's middle school; his wife, Dr. Theresa Divine; and their two sons – was staying for eight nights. The family fell ill two days later.

Months later the governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands said Esmond and his sons were in serious to critical condition and had suffered neurological damage.

The family's health condition was so severe that Pope Francis paused to bless them, at the urging of U.S. Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, before leaving the region during his trip to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families in September.

An update on their current conditions was not immediately available Tuesday.

James J. Maron, a Wilmington lawyer, had been acting as a spokesman for the family, but someone who answered the phone at his law firm Tuesday declined to comment and would not give a reporter his name.

A spokesman for Terminix also did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Steve Esmond and his family were poisoned by a pesticide while vacationing in St. John.(Photo: Submitted)

U.S. Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe of the District of the Virgin Islands said in a statement that the prosecution demonstrates the importance of complying with environmental regulations.

“Tragically, the defendants' failure to do so resulted in catastrophic injuries to the victims and exposed many others to similar harm," he said.

The family's plight has drawn extensive media coverage around the nation and led federal officials to investigate.

Soon after the government began its investigation, Terminix voluntarily ceased its use of methyl bromide in the U.S. and U.S. territories.

It is used only in one remaining government contract at the Port of Baltimore.

The investigation culminated Tuesday in the U.S. Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency announcing that Terminix had been charged with multiple violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.

In a plea agreement, Terminix and its U.S. Virgin Islands counterpart agreed to pay $8 million in fines, $1 million for a community service project in the U.S. Virgin Islands and $1 million in restitution to the EPA for response and cleanup costs at the St. John resort.

The company also agreed to "make good faith efforts to resolve past and future medical expenses for the family through separate civil proceedings" while the company is on probation for three years, the Justice Department said.

The plea agreement is subject to approval by a U.S. District Court judge.

Terminix admitted to doing a fumigation treatment with methyl bromide for Powder Post Beetles, a common problem in the islands, using the "tape and seal" method, meaning the affected area was sealed and customers were told to stay out for two to three days, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

The treatment method was used at the Sirenusa resort in St. John in October 2014 and March 2015, according to information filed in federal court in the U.S. District Court of the Virgin Islands. It also used the pesticide in 12 residential units in St. Croix and one additional unit in St. Thomas between September 2012 and February 2015.

Assistant Administrator Cynthia Giles for the EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance said in a statement that the Delaware family's case shows the "real consequences" of breaking a law that is meant to protect public health.

“This incident illustrates how important it is for EPA to enforce environmental laws and hold anyone accountable for endangering our safety. Today’s charges should send a clear message to the industry, and directs important funds toward training programs to help ensure this can’t happen again," she said.